Europe's prospects of retaining the Solheim Cup for a fourth successive time appear bleak as the United States took a commanding 6-2 lead after Day 1 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.
Leading 3-1 from this morning's foursomes session, the Americans maintained their momentum in the afternoon to open up a four point lead heading into Saturday as they seek to regain the trophy for the first time since 2017.
Ireland's Leona Maguire, rested for the morning foursomes session - the first time she had sat out a session in what is her third Solheim Cup - was paired with Georgia Hall in the opening fourballs match but they was demolished by the in-form American duo of Nelly Korda and Megan Khang.
Maguire and Hall mustered just two birdies across 14 holes of fourballs play and were no match for the rampant Korda, in particular, the World No. 1 recording four birdies and two eagles to sit -8 thru 14.
Cries of 'USA, USA' rang around the course as Korda and Khang, in ebullient mood, raced into a 5up lead after eight holes and at one stage it seemed a record fourball margin of victory at the Solheim Cup was in sight.
Nelly Korda came to PLAY 😱
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 13, 2024
She drains the eagle on No. 14 to take the match for @SolheimCupUSA! pic.twitter.com/3l3LEiCX3x
The American duo were 6up after 12 holes, and while the Europeans pulled one back with a rare win on the 13th, Korda's spectacular eagle on 14 sealed a 6&4 victory in style.
It was by far Maguire's heaviest defeat in Solheim Cup, in which she had only lost two matches 1up in Spain last year and racked up a whopping 7.5 points from 10 matches across the 2021 and 2023 competitions.
As in the morning session, the Europeans did secure one victory in fourballs, with Swedish pair Anna Nordqvist and Madeline Sagstrom powering to a comprehensive 6&5 victory over Lexi Thompson and Alison Lee in what was the most one-sided match of the day.
But it was a rare bright spot for Europe in the afternoon, as Linn Grant and Charley Hull sacrificed an early lead amid a poor display of putting as Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee won hole after hole around the turn to canter to a ultimately lop-sided 5&4 victory.
The third match was the only one in the afternoon that progressed further than the 14th green but Emily Pederson and Maja Stark - triumphant in the morning foursomes - fell short by 3&2 against Lauren Coughlin and impressive US debutant Sarah Schmelzel.
Europe recovered from a 4-0 foursomes deficit in Andalusia to win the Solheim Cup 12 months ago, and captain Suzann Pettersen told Sky Sports: "We were faced with quite a big challenge last year.
"We have done it before and we can do it again. It's going to take a massive effort but I know we can do it.
"We gave a good effort but the Americans played great. I feel like they had all the putts rolling their way and I don’t feel like we’ve had any momentum.
"We have a massive job ahead of us [but] anything is possible….and there are so many points left to play for."
US captain Stacy Lewis said: "It’s been a really good day. I saw a ton of good golf, and really things played out the way we were hoping.
"The way our team is right now, we know fourballs is not our forte. So I really put some focus on that.
"Also just the energy, it felt like at times in Spain last year, it got kind of flat. So I wanted to make sure I had the right people out here with the energy.
"Certainly saw it with Megan and Nelly as they were skipping out of that tunnel on the first tee."
Earlier, the Americans had raced into a 3-1 lead in the alternate shot format - traditionally a strong suit of the Europeans - with Korda and Allisen Corpuz leading the charge, defeating the European pair of Esther Henseleit and Charley Hull 3&2 in the opening match.
Zhang and Coughlin made it 2-0 to the hosts, triumphing on a 3&2 margin over Celine Boutier and Albane Valenzuela.
The 16th hole would be a scene of glory for the Americans again in match four, Schmelzel knocking her tee shot stone dead as she and two-time major winner Lilia Vu saw off the European duo of Grant and Carlota Ciganda, again by 3&2.
There was some respite for the Europeans in the third match, even if Stark and Pedersen almost tossed away an unassaible advantage, seeing a 4up lead after eight holes fall back to a 1up lead coming to the final two holes.
Stark drained a nerveless putt for a half on the 17th after her partner had drilled her approach putt six feet past. And then Pedersen cracked her approach into 3ft on the 18th to ensure a 2up victory for the Europeans.
Following her 6&5 defeat this afternoon, Maguire will sit out the foursomes for the second day in a row, with Pettersen re-jigging things slightly, Maguire's partner Hall joining up with Stark, while Nordqvist is partnered with Celine Boutier.
Saturday foursomes (Irish times)
12.05pm: Allisen Corpuz/ Nelly Korda (US) v Emily Pedersen/ Carlota Ciganda (EUR)
12:17pm: Ally Ewing/ Jennifer Kupcho (US) v Esther Henseleit/ Charley Hull (EUR)
12:29pm: Lexi Thompson/ Lauren Coughlin (U.S.) v Maja Stark/ Georgia Hall (EUR)
12:41pm: Lilia Vu/ Sarah Schmelzel (U.S.) v Anna Nordqvist/ Celine Boutier (EUR)
Tournament organisers had earlier been forced to apologise for major issues getting spectators into the golf course which meant the first tee grandstands were nowhere near full as play got under way.
Fans posted footage of long lines waiting for shuttle buses on social media, with some reports of people simply giving up and going home.
"We recognise and deeply apologise to all fans affected by the challenges with shuttling from parking to the golf course," the LPGA said in a statement.
"We've made significant changes to our transportation system to mitigate these issues moving forward, and we’re working on ways to express our regret to those impacted."
With additional reporting: PA
